Will Hobbs

Will Hobbs is the author of numerous novels for young adults and middle school readers as well as two picture book stories. Mr Hobb's books have won many awards. His stories focus on the outdoors and nature, allowing readers to share adventures with people from varied backgrounds. A graduate of Stanford University and former reading and language arts teacher. Will has been a full-time writer since 1990. He lives with his wife, Jean, in the mountains near Durango, Colorado. Many of his stories have been inspired by his surroundings. Will and his wife, Jean, enjoy taking white water rafting and hiking vacations. They even went sea kayaking in Alaska with the humpback whales!

 
 

Hi to my friends and readers at East Middle School! I was honored to hear that I'll be your featured author this month. I know you already have most of my books in your library, thanks to your wonderful media specialist, Mrs. Walters. I think you also have a poster of my mystery story, GHOST CANOE.

As I write this, I'm looking out the window of my "writing nest" here in the mountains of southwestern Colorado. We've had elk in the yard the last couple of days, and eagles flying low over the meadow, hunting for rabbits. Those wild bunnies that live in our woodshed better stay out of sight!

When I was in first and second grade, we used to live not too far from you. My dad was an officer in the Air Force and was serving at the Pentagon, so we were living in Falls Church, Virginia. That was where I first discovered turtles, right in our back yard, and I've been a turtle fan ever since. From there we moved to Alaska, where I discovered fishing, baseball and bears, and then to northern California, where I spent my middle school years. You move around a lot when your family's in the Air Force, but I have three brothers and one sister, so we always had each other.

When I was your age I loved reading mysteries, and wanted to try writing one myself. To my surprise, GHOST CANOE, my first mystery, won an award in 1998 called the Edgar (after Edgar Allan Poe) for Best Mystery of the year! The trophy is a small statue of Poe, which I have on my bookshelf. I'm thinking about writing another mystery soon......

My brand new book, which I'll bet you have already, is called The Maze. It's an adventure story filled with danger and suspense. There's also a lot in the story about flying, both hang-gliding and the flight of our most endangered and largest bird, the California Condor.

 Thanks for inviting me to write you this note, and thanks for your enthusiasm about my books. I hope you have a great school year, and KEEP READING! Will Hobbs